The Forum on Education Abroad Guided Standards Assessment Queries Worksheet Template

Assessing Short-Term and/or Faculty-Led Programs 1. Mission, Objectives and Purpose: The program relates to the education abroad mission of the organization and has well-defined academic and/or experiential objectives.
Standard. Query 1.a Query Institutional Policies: How does the program relate to the mission of the sponsoring institution? Analysis (Bullet Points) Short-term programs relate to Azusa Pacific Universitys mission because APU is focused on Intentional Internationalization as one of the four key themes in its accreditation. Proposed Actions for Improvement Appendix Proposal for New OffCampus Study Programs Question #3: Essence Statement Intentional Internation alization website http://www .apu.edu/p rovost/visi on/ 1.b Purpose: What are the programs purposes and academic and/or experiential goals? How clearly are these defined? There are different purposes and goals for different types of programs. They are also defined differently. If you take it on a case-by-case basis, some programs are stronger and more clearly defined than others. They are held to the same standards in their own Proposal for NewOff Campus Study Programs Question

discipline. The courses offered are already traditionally approved courses at APU. The same expectations and outcomes are expected regardless of the context that students are in. However, the activities may differ. The activities for accomplishing those objectives change based on context and location. 1.c Appropriateness: How appropriate to the focus of the program is the site chosen? The site that is chosen is always appropriate for the focus of a program. For example, the Spanish Studies program is in Dominican Republic, where Spanish is spoken. London and other parts of Europe are very relevant to the Art Program, because some of the leading art museums are located at those sites. It all depends on the discipline. Some disciplines could go almost anywhere and the site would still be relevant to the focus of their program. Location is on the forefront of planning. Faculty members are aware of the best places to go for the classes that they teach.

#4: Goals and Objectives

Short-term program description s

2. Student Learning and Development: The program is reviewed in light of its stated educational purpose for fostering student learning and development.
Standard. Query 2.a Query Student Development: What opportunities does the program provide that encourage student development (e.g., leadership skills, service orientation, maturity, tolerance for ambiguity, growth in cultural awareness)? Analysis Every program differs in its student development goal. We do not have a defined student development outcome required of the university for these programs. This is an area in need of improvement. However, we build in components that promote student Proposed Actions for Improvement We need to define a student development outcome for these programs. Appendix

development (e.g., service-learning, ministry). There are various cultural awareness activities like home stays or cultural mentors. There is so much that can be done, but every program is different on what they offer and on what their focus is for student development. Sometimes these short-term programs are for professional development as well, which goes along with leadership skills, maturity, etc. 2.b Learning Outcomes: How does the program define and assess discipline-specific and/or interdisciplinary learning outcomes in relation to the curriculum, site, and goals? Learning outcomes are not clearly defined. In the proposal process, faculty is required to relate the intention of the program to the essence of APUs mission, which can include those interdisciplinary outcomes. But it is not a requirement. These goals are very important depending on the type of program. There are many categories of programs, so it is difficult to pinpoint which goals are important to specific programs. You cannot say it is a top priority for all of the programs. We want it to be. Language and intercultural development could always be improved in all of the programs, regardless if it is a statistics course, photography course or an intercultural communication course. You can always increase intercultural development opportunities. It depends on the program, but there is always an element of pre-trip meetings. All the directors try to debrief students either before they leave the country or when they return. Some directors will Add an element of student learning and development into the proposal process.

2.c

Language and Intercultural Development: How appropriate to the programs goals are the language and intercultural development opportunities it provides?

Increase intercultural development opportunities in the programs that are offered.

2.d

Intrapersonal Development: What opportunities for reflection does the program include during and after the experience?

Career Services Reentry Workshop, CSA Re-

have reunion dinners or groups. The university as a whole encourages all returnees to participate in reentry activities. The Center for Student Action leads reentry events for students returning from their programs. Sometimes these reentry events are self-led. We encourage student participants and faculty to lead their own debrief. Some programs are more intense such as the graduate and doctoral psychology program in Kenya. Participants in this program deal with more intense situations on site than do participants in other programs. As a result, participants in a program such as the one in Kenya meet more than just during the two-week study program. We try to make the reentry events as personal to the program as possible. An event coming from the Study Abroad Office is not as well received as reunion meetings or debrief sessions. But we always have one big event where we want everyone to interact and share stories with each other. 2.e Environmental and Cultural Responsibility: How does the organization foster faculty, staff and student awareness and the minimization of harmful individual and program-related environmental and social-cultural impacts? It is probably a weak area. Some programs are better at addressing this area. Some of the disciplines such as global studies, sociology, and anthropology cover these sections a lot better than we do as a whole. Since the intention of APU has been to provide many opportunities for exposure to different cultures, whether it is domestic or international, it has been our primary focus to get students who grew up in a primarily White, Christian, middle-class household to experience another This is an area that should be addressed during the meetings.

entry Purpose and Objectives , Dept Scavenger Hunt Invitation, Event Setup Instruction s, etc.

culture. 2.f Assessment: How are the student learning outcomes and overall student experience assessed at the programs conclusion so that subsequent programs are improved based on this assessment? Student learning outcomes are assessed by a faculty evaluation process that all faculty members have to follow. We do a return assessment asking a variety of questions ranging from classes to living situations. We give directors the feedback that we receive. However, we usually have directors or on-site coordinators do their own assessments in-country before they leave so that they can make changes for the next year. We ask them what worked and what did not work. For example, our Dominican Republic program received feedback on the lack of organization in-country when students were told that they would have excursions. The excursions were not well organized by the host. We made changes based on that feedback. There will be a handbook clearly defining the schedule that the program is required to follow. CGLE Return Assessme nt

3. Academic Framework (for programs offering credit): The organization maintains clearly stated and publicly available policies on academic matters related to education abroad.
Standard. Query 3.a Query Academic Credit: How are the institutions policies used to approve the program for academic credit? Analysis Most of our short-term programs are faculty-led so they are actually teaching APU classes. There are only a few programs, such as Dominican Republic, where the department and the deans have approved the courses to transfer. There is a transfer process similar to the transfer inquiry process. The Proposed Actions for Improvement Appendix

3.b

Length: How appropriate is the length of the program to the amount of credit granted?

policies are clear and no one ever assumes that courses are not approved. We advertise only after the courses have been approved. Our accrediting body, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, has changed its credit hour requirement for short-term study abroad programs as of August 2011. We will be following that policy. However, it will not go into effect until next academic year. It has yet to become official. It will be straightforward, and we will abide by it. The length and credit granted will be appropriate and match the policy. Coming from a recruiter standpoint, we do not like summer programs that do not count for anything important. We prefer to offer short-term programs that meet a major requirement for students. It is cost-effective because they are fulfilling a core requirement. It is easier to fill a program if it offers courses that are actually applicable. We do not like focusing on bonus elective units. Programs that offer these types of units do not recruit enough students. In all the pre-departure meetings, the Registrar Office provides guidelines on enrollment policies. They are clear and straightforward.

DRAFT Proposed Credit Policy for CGLE

3.c

Curricular Integration: If organized by a college or university, how does the program fulfill a graduation, general education or major requirement?

3.d

Academic Guidelines: How are policies clearly stated on enrollment changes, withdrawal, and the awarding of academic credit?

CGLE Catalog pages, Registrar Residence Policy, UG Registrar before you leave for spring departure, ug_course

transfer_in quiry 3.e Academic Coursework: How academically rigorous is the program, and how interculturally enriching are the learning experiences it provides? It depends on the program. Students and faculty gain independence by having an experiential learning opportunity. Academic rigor might be low in some programs but there are many other benefits and learning that occur. However, it all depends on the program. Our semester program in Oxford is highly research-oriented and academic, whereas our program in South Africa is service-learning based. Students are learning a lot on both sides but the learning differs in terms of rigor. The Center for Global Learning and Engagement (CGLE)/Study Abroad does not have a lot of interaction with that element, because we do not teach all the courses. The faculty member who is teaching should be responsible for evaluating how effective and important the site visit or discussion was and how it related to the student learning outcomes. Our office does not have much control in that. For some of our programs, we do get to see the faculty evaluations. Although these evaluations assess the faculty members, comments about the relevance of the location to the topic or the relevance of the museum tour to the topic arise. However, it is up to the department or faculty member to evaluate this area. During the proposal process, faculty members need to thoroughly consider why they are doing their program. They have deeply thought about the 2 program web description

3.f

Academic Evaluation: How are students evaluated by methods that measure how the site is used effectively in the integration of readings, site visits, discussions, and cultural activities?

3. g

Field Study: How does the program make effective use of the host locations for structured experiential learning?

Proposal for New OffCampus

3. h

Internships and Field Research: How does academic and field supervision for internships and field research ensure adequate oversight when offered for credit?

3.i

On-Site Advising: How do the program and the students home campus collaborate to advise students in their academic endeavors?

3.j

Academic Integration: How does the program integrate students overseas learning with requirements and learning at the students home institutions?

locations, sites, and fields that they are going to visit and how effective they are to the program and its purpose. In the proposal process, the intention and purposes of the program are well thought out. We do not have many programs in the summer with internships or field research except for our graduate and doctoral program in psychology. Students in this program go to Kenya and are directly supervised during clinical sites involving psychological needs and mental health issues. Students get a limited amount of hours for one of their internship units. All of those expectations are mandated by the department, which are requirements of the State of California. There is no problem getting credit for those hours. One of the primary goals of the Study Abroad Office is to advise students on programs that are a good fit for them. We try to fit students in the best programs for them. That could either be a semester or a short-term program, and it can be dependent on their academics or their financial aid. Hence, we do a holistic advising process. It is important for recruiting. Faculty members are also key players in recruiting students. All the courses in the summer programs that we offer are based on what is required at APU. They are all usually APU classes or we have approved them as core requirements to APU. We have integrated our summer programs intentionally. Some students decide to do summer programs outside of APU

Study Programs

but that usually comes from their own research on different programs that they want to be a part of. We advise them and encourage them to make sure that they get their courses approved so that they can get credit for those courses. We advise them on how to ensure that their courses are approved and integrated into their graduation plan.

4. Extra-Academic Framework: The organization maintains clearly stated policies on non-academic matters related to the educational experience abroad.
Standard. Query 4.a Query For programs involving extensive travel: i) How carefully do faculty and program sponsors consider the number of sites proposed to visit, their geographical proximity to each other and the time spent traveling between them? How much emphasis is given to having full, indepth experiences at each site rather than on seeing everything by visiting multiple sites and spending only short amounts of time on each site? ii) How do faculty and sponsors justify the amount of travel proposed? How aware are leaders that visiting a large number of sites and/or countries does not necessarily provide an optimal educational experience? Analysis We tell faculty that short-term programs are not the answer that we are looking for. However, these programs are a benefit for the university because they provide an opportunity for students, who work full-time, to study abroad. Shortterm programs fit a niche market. We also want short-term programs to be a part of APU, because they contribute to faculty development. Creating a proposal for a short-term program, executing the program, and participating in the program leads to faculty development. Short-term programs help internationalize the university as a whole. Gradually, all of our faculty will have an experience around a global issue or global topic. That is what we want. We always tell faculty that short-term programs are not what we want for our students as a priority. We want them to have a longterm experience such as a semester or Proposed Actions for Improvement Appendix CGLE Mission Statement

4.b

For volunteer and work abroad programs: i) How is it verified that community-based agencies, private firms, or other host-community organizations with which the program collaborates are well-established, trusted, and known?

a year abroad. Short-term programs are to some extent a second priority at APU in the Study Abroad Office. Nevertheless, we recognize the different benefits of these programs. Faculty members are aware that this is not the ideal timeframe. Ideally, they would want their students to be there longer, but short-term programs provide a taste of a different culture. We do not have a lot of internships abroad. Most short-term programs are faculty-led. If a student does an internship abroad, it is usually separate from the university. It is not creditbearing. The internship is just an experience for them. We have several volunteer programs that we do not operate out of our office, because we have another office that manages them. Our Office of World Missions operates these volunteer programs. If we have a volunteer or service-learning component in any of our short-term programs, such as the School of Business in Europe, we have direct connections to the community organizations via our alumni. We connect with people we know who are on site and familiar with the organization. That is how we verify community-based agencies and private firms. We trust that they are wellestablished and organized.

5. Preparation for the Learning Environment Abroad: The program or its sponsoring institution provides advising and orientation support that is consistent with the programs mission and the needs of its students.

Standard. Query 5.a

Query Orientation: How much discussion of the academic program, health and safety issues, adjustment to the host culture, and information about the host location and society does the programs orientation provide for students prior to departure and upon arrival?

Analysis For short-term programs, we have a general pre-departure meeting that covers all of these topics in brief. We expect that our faculty directors will meet with their group once or more before they leave abroad. Most of the students have outside orientation in order to get the lay of the land, meeting times, and the locations of where they are staying compared to where they are studying. All of the programs do a good job of covering these areas. Although, we can always make some improvements. However, students have a hard time listening until they are on the ground. But we do have a general meeting that is required of all the students and then every faculty director does their own training and preparation work. For some, the training is more intense. It all depends on the program. Some programs have several meetings and are able to cover different topics. We provide general resources on where students can find this information. Some programs are more intense than others. Some programs have great resource manuals and student handbooks. Other programs do not need them. It all depends on the program. We do not see a lot of red flags with the support that we provide. When we are selecting faculty leaders or when we are approving a program, we want to meet with them. We want to understand how

Proposed Actions for Improvement

5.b

Ongoing Orientation: How much of a continuous orientation to the host culture, including information about the host location and culture, does the program provide students in order to maximize their experience and learning?

5.c

Advising: How appropriate is the programs academic and nonacademic advising support to meet changing student needs before and throughout the period abroad?

5.d

Returning Student Support: How much support for students returning from abroad do the home institution and/or the program provide?

they handled emergencies in the past. We want to know more about the faculty leaders before we send them off with a group of students. We have a reentry committee and it is made up of all the departments that struggle with reentry issues and needs. The committee includes the Office of World Missions, the Study Abroad Office, the Ministry and Service Office (which does local service), and the Mexico Outreach Office. Most of these offices are student life. The only one that is not is Study Abroad. It is a collaboration with both academic and student life support. We are always trying new ideas. We want to provide a range of support services for students returning from abroad. We do at least one big celebratory event every semester when students come back. We want to show these students that we are here for them. We try to creatively display the type of resources that they have on this campus. We provide counseling services and even career services if they are graduating and they want to learn how to incorporate their study abroad experience into their resume. We want to give them those resources, but we try to do so in a creative manner. There is always room for growth and that is definitely an area that we want to keep growing on.

6. Student Selection and Code of Conduct: The program maintains, and makes publicly accessible, its commitment to fair and appropriate policies regarding student selection and conduct.

Standard. Query 6.a

Query Student selection: How transparent, published, and fair and consistent with general institutional standards and the specific criteria that program leaders may choose for their program are the prerequisites, recruitment and selection processes?

Analysis Students are selected based on the responses to the questions on specific applications. Every summer program has a list of questions that students need to respond to. Students do not sign up and automatically go on shortterm programs. They are selected by faculty directors. The questions on the applications guide faculty directors on who to select. Faculty directors tend to select students that are committed to the objectives of the programs. Our department does background clearances on all of the applicants. A diversity/non-discrimination statement is not included on the application. We have a statement about student disability and healthcare. We also have a student conduct policy. We warn students that we are going to perform background checks on them with specific departments under the APU Discipline and Clearance Process. It is perhaps covered in university documents; however, we should give full disclosure on our applications. Whenever we set up or do any sort of training with faculty members who are planning on leading short-term trips, we encourage them to keep the price low. It is more difficult to recruit students for summer programs, because there is no financial aid. Sometimes students can use loans that they did not fully use during the semester to fund their summer programs. The university approved a smaller tuition rate to help alleviate some of the travel costs. The

Proposed Actions for Improvement We need to better define this area (e.g., the fairness and equality in selecting students) on the study abroad website.

6.b

Diversity/Non-Discrimination: How does the program welcome and act with respect towards students regardless of race, sex, sexual orientation, physical ability, religion, or national and ethnic origin?

We need to implement a diversity/non-discrimination statement in every application.

6.c.

Affordability: How does the program seek to keep the program affordable for the greatest number of students?

6.d

Financial Assistance: How do the program and/or its sponsor proactively assist students and families by informing them of internal and/or external financial support?

6.e

Code of Conduct: How does the program inform students of its student code of conduct, disciplinary processes and the consequences of violations prior to the beginning of the program, and consistently apply them during the program?

6.f

Enforcement of Discipline: How is

university implemented a 50% summer tuition rate, which is 50% of the regular per unit rate. It makes it very affordable and students can sometimes take one class and travel for the cost of a regular semester. We also know that due to Financial Aid regulations the students that usually tend to go abroad in the summer are from a middle-class to higher class background. Sometimes faculty sets up scholarship funds for students. APU is committed to making these programs more affordable for students. The summer programs are dependent on the program director and what they can do. Every study abroad student for the summer needs to meet with his or her financial advisor, who works specifically with study abroad programs. The financial advisor goes over all the students financial options. We require all students to attend predeparture meetings, and we explain to them that they have to abide by the Student Code of Conduct. Students sign an agreement that states that they will commit themselves to uphold the Student Code of Conduct. Many directors build separate contracts with each student. Sometimes faculty put it in their syllabi. In the screening process, we warn all students that we do background checks. If programs have trainings or other pre-departure meetings, specific guidelines on how students can act or what they may wear are discussed there. It all depends on the program. There is an international safety and

the program staff provided with protocols and procedures for the handling of disciplinary issues?

security process that the office of the vice president of internationalization manages. Usually if there is an infraction or violation, it starts with contacting our department or Matt Brownings department. There is an incident reporting process. Usually, it involves collaboration between student life, academics, and the faculty director on site. The same protocol that the student life associate dean abides by is used. There is a reporting mechanism. A violation can be reported on the students file. It is a group decision if someone is sent home due to a violation. We warn faculty that their role is not just teaching. They are actually leading a trip and might have to deal with student concerns and issues. Our faculty are living and learning in the same community. They wear many hats. There are also on-site orientations where programs go over all the rules.

7. Organizational and Program Resources: The program has adequate financial and personnel resources.
Standard. Query 7.a Query On-Site Administration: How adequate is the administrative support that the sponsor provides for the program and its students? Analysis It depends on the program. Some programs use a travel agent. We do not have many of those. Travel agents are expensive and our goal is to make these programs affordable. When we use them, we tend to choose the ones that are known for their organizational structure and support such as EF Proposed Actions for Improvement Appendix

7.b

Personnel: How are personnel selected according to the policies of the sponsoring institution, and how clearly defined are their responsibilities?

7.c

How sufficient is the number of Academic and Administrative personnel relative to the number of student participants?

Tours. However, we do not use them often because they are costly. Different programs have different needs. Some programs are more tour-oriented where they are heading from one city to the next and there is not much coordination by an outside party. It is all internal and based on the faculty and faculty members experience in that country. The faculty director is usually selected by his or her department to lead a group. The Dean and our department are also involved in the process. We have pre-meetings with faculty members who are interested in leading programs. We explain what their role entails and inform them that they are not just teaching a course. They are facilitating a program. The Chairs and Deans know their faculty well and whether they can support a proposal from that faculty member. We target faculty members that will be great at leading programs. We do not have personnel go abroad. It is usually back here in our office. We are a support staff for all the programs. It depends on the program. There is no set ratio. We can estimate how many faculty members we need to send depending on the size of the group, but we have never had a problem in this regard. In fact, we might even have more faculty members than need to be there. But that is usually because they are teaching a class. Typically, there is one faculty member per seven to ten students. Some programs are all organic and do not use an institution or organization in the country that they are

We could design a rubric for how many faculty members or personnel there should be relative to the number of students.

7.d

Personnel-Academic: How appropriate are the qualifications, knowledge and level of commitment and engagement that program faculty members have to support the curriculum and the student learning environment both inside and outside the classroom? How well do program faculty members understand that, especially for short-term programs, the entire experience in the host culture forms the class?

7.e

7.f

Personnel--Administration, Advising, and Support: How appropriate are the qualifications, training, knowledge and level of commitment and engagement that program staff members have to administer the program effectively and provide academic advising and support services to promote the development, learning, health, and well-being of students? PersonnelGeneral: How fully informed are Academic and Administrative personnel about their responsibilities with respect to the program?

visiting. Hence, these programs need additional support. These programs can have anywhere from two to three faculty members per fifteen to twenty students. All faculty members who come to us with proposals have been to a training or meeting with CGLE/Study Abroad personnel to discuss the format of the program. During these meetings, faculty members become knowledgeable about the steps involved in leading a program. Some faculty members communicate with other faculty members in their department who have led short-term programs in the past to gain an understanding of the process. Faculty members who lead these programs enjoy the out-ofclassroom experience and diving into another culture. CGLE/Study Abroad does all the shortterm program advising and support. Faculty can answer most questions that students may have about the program. However, faculty treats our department as a central source of knowledge. We have a working relationship with faculty.

The Guided Assessment will assist us in revising our Faculty Director Handbook and clarifying what are the expectations for faculty members.

Academic and Administrative personnel are aware of their responsibilities with respect to the program. When we revise the faculty handbook, it will become even clearer. It will be a resource for faculty whether it is in public folders or on our website. In the meetings that we have, faculty becomes

We are planning on revising the Faculty Director Handbook once we receive a report from the Forum on Education Abroad.

AGENDA creating a new shortterm program, Invitation to creating a new

aware of what happens in a program and what is expected of them.

7.g

Protocols: How are program personnel provided with protocols for handling issues that may arise in the course of a program?

7.h

PersonnelSupport: How adequate is compensation received by Academic and Administrative personnel?

7.i

Training: How appropriate is Academic and Administrative personnel training in the areas of health, safety, and security; student affairs; disciplinary procedures; academic advising; and operating in the host environment?

We provide faculty with emergency contact numbers and APU support. We then follow the APU Action Plan. We inform faculty that they must immediately contact the assistant vice president of Intentional Internationalization, the executive director of CGLE/Study Abroad or the associate director of CGLE/Study Abroad. They are available 24/7 in cases of emergencies. The information can also be found in the faculty handbook. Faculty is aware of standard protocols on campus and is required to call Campus Safety for specific issues. CGLE/Study Abroad compensates faculty for each class, assuming that they have enough students. We also cover their expenses. In order for faculty to get paid for a course, the minimum amount of students that must be enrolled in the course is five. Many programs use third-party people for on-site training. Our training requires a meeting with the CGLE/Study Abroad associate director or executive director so that faculty is aware of how to handle certain situations. Faculty does not do academic advising for these short-term

short-term program, Role of Faculty Director, Short-term study abroad faculty resources Azusa Pacific University Internation al Emergenc y Action Plan

An area of growth is to offer faculty a stipend or mini-grant for creating their own programs.

7.j

7.k

Communication with the Home Campus: What guidelines and protocols are established for communication between the program and the home institution(s)? Communication Media: How adequate are the programs means for effective communication with the home campus and among and between in-country staff and student participants?

7.l

Financial Resources: How sufficient are the financial resources that the sponsoring institution devotes to the program to assure its academic success and the well-being of the students?

trips other than recruiting. Advising is straightforward because students already know what classes they need. Specific cell phone numbers, office numbers, and emails are provided. We have a pre-departure packet with all the important contacts in case of an emergency. Every student is required to attend a pre-departure meeting where they receive a pre-departure packet that contains emergency and contact information. If students feel uncomfortable speaking to the faculty director about a particular issue, there are other sources available for them to contact. Students also have the Study Abroad office as a central source. In planning the budget for these programs, we try to think of everything and anything that could come up. We build in a buffer or cushion for situations. We even build in money for reunion events and debriefs. The financial resources are good. There is always a risk or a chance that an emergency can happen, which the university would cover. We have a fund here that we can pull from. For instance, we had someone in Israel fall down one of the archeological dig sites. She suffered a severe injury. We were called immediately and the health insurance that we provide all the students with was also contacted. The health insurance preapproved reimbursement for a first-class ticket back. It cost $7,000. The program budget did not have that money. But since the insurance had preapproved

PreDeparture Packet Winter_Sp ring_2012 PreDeparture Packet Winter_Sp ring_2012

SummerWinter_Bu dget_Tem plate

7.m

Learning and Academic Support Facilities: How adequate are the facilities that the program has or utilizes as appropriate to the goals of the program and the host environment and culture?

7.n

Accommodation: How does the program accommodate students with physical or learning disabilities?

Student Housing: How safe, clean, and culturally-appropriate are the lodgings in which students are housed, and how appropriate is the orientation that students are provided

the reimbursement, we were able to cover it. APU is committed to the safety and well-being of students and if an emergency were to arise they would act immediately to get the students out. We try to budget as well as possible. The facilities that the programs utilize have been great. We use trustworthy vendors and organizations. Before faculty and students even go abroad, we try to get pictures of the spaces they will occupy. Students are grateful to be in the environment that they are visiting. They adapt and do not usually have any problems with the facilities. In all the applications, we have students read the Student Disability and Healthcare Statement. It states that some countries may or may not have certain resources available for students with disabilities. The statement directs students to contact CGLE. They must let us know if they have additional needs. If it concerns a learning disability, we work with our Learning Enrichment Center (LEC). LEC helps define any kind of need that the student might have while abroad. If they have reasonable needs, we will fulfill them. We do our best to accommodate students, but in some countries or situations we cannot. Our legal council and our Learning Enrichment Center are usually involved in these types of situations. All of our locations have been safe, clean, and culturally-appropriate. Even though we want to make the programs more affordable for students, we do not take their safety for granted. We do not

Study Abroad Disability Accommo dations

to their housing situation? 7.p Environmental and Cultural Responsibility: How does the organization consider and respond to local environmental, economic, and cultural consequences of its presence (or disappearance) in the design and management of its programs?

7.q

Assessment: How are the program personnel and financial resources assessed at the programs

choose an inexpensive, unsafe place just to cut costs for students. Safety is on the forefront. Our graduate and doctoral psychology students in the Kenya program exemplify environmental and cultural responsibility. They are psychologists who go to support the community and their needs. None of the programs go there to impose protocols or procedures. They listen and come together to support each other. They are supporting the cultural needs in a service-learning type of situation. When you take it to the root of these shortterm programs, you look at the faculty member and the faculty member usually has experience in the culture that he or she is going into. Faculty members know how to culturally respond to those needs or responsibilities. Our faculty members are great on building relationships. If we rely on an organization, we encourage faculty to be very upfront with any provider overseas whether it is in Kenya or in Europe. It is about building an understanding and a contract. Not everything needs to be in writing or a legal contract. We just want everyone to be aware of who is responsible for what. We have to come to an agreement, which is all part of intercultural communication. It requires knowing how to work with each other. It is respect and a common understanding for the culture. We send out return assessments to students. We normally do not get many responses. But we do get responses

We need examples and ideas of what environmental and cultural responsibility refers to so that we can better define that for ourselves. There is an overall understanding of how we impact the culture and how we affect the environment. We want to alleviate any kind of negative impact we are having on the host culture. It is a topic we should keep on the forefront of our trainings and resource manuals.

The only problem with the assessment is the accuracy of APUs system. It is only the

CGLE Return Assessme

conclusion so that subsequent programs are improved based on this assessment?

when there are problems. The assessment asks students about the programs personnel, faculty director, services, facilities, etc. When we get negative feedback, we make appropriate adjustments on our end. We are enforcing new vendors and new leadership traits due to one particular program (a program in Rome which received negative feedback from students about its leadership). That program will change based on the feedback that we received from the assessment. Assessing financial resources is straightforward. We have a proposed budget and the actual expenses. Sometimes the proposed budget is accurate and there is zero balance. Other times, we have extra money left over. We build the program based on a minimum of five students, but if the program gets 15 students then there is going to be extra money left. We evaluate how much extra money there will be. These programs include everything so they usually end up with very little excess money, which is the cushion that is built in. Only one program has gone over and that was because the faculty member was adamant about working with us.

technical pieces that delay our process.

nt

8. Health, Safety, and Security: The program has established and continuously maintains effective health, safety, security and risk management policies, procedures and faculty/staff training.
Standard. Query 8.a Query Safety and Security: How Analysis We have an emergency action protocol. Proposed Actions Appendix

Azusa

appropriate are the safety and security policies that the program follows?

We have pre-departure meetings where we discuss safety and security. We utilize studentsabroad.com for students to do their own personal emergency planning. They have their own toolkit.

Pacific Universit y Internatio nal Emergenc y Action Plan

http://w ww.stud entsabro ad.com/ planning. asp

8.b

Health: How aware is the program leadership of student health issues prior to departure, and how prepared to handle student, faculty, and staff health issues that may arise?

8.c

Local Resources: What contact information does the program have at the location to assist with emergencies and health and safety issues, including the police, U.S.

We go over students health benefits and what is required. Usually, students need to pre-pay and get reimbursed later from their health insurance. We give out a form for students to fill in their personal information. It has their emergency contacts, health needs, allergies, etc. All faculty directors receive a packet that includes students emergency information, health insurance, and the coverage that faculty and staff have. They receive everything with their pre-departure packet before they leave abroad. We have a great health plan where you can even look up local doctors if students need to make a doctors visit. We register all students and faculty members on the State Department

PreDeparture Packet Winter_Sp ring_2012

Faculty and Staff Travel Document

overseas representatives, physicians, hospitals, and mental health professionals?

8.d

Liability: How adequate is the programs insurance coverage?

8.e

Insurance: How does the program ensure that students have health insurance coverage that is applicable in-country, and in the countries visited by the program?

8.f

Risk Management: How is the program organized with close attention to risk management issues?

website. We register the groups, the days they will be traveling abroad, and the countries they will be visiting. If there is a national emergency, the U.S. embassies in those regions know that our students and groups are there. They know the Americans that are in that area. All the programs have local access to the hospitals. Based on experience, we know where the local hospitals are and faculty members are aware of those as well. If we use a tour agency, a travel agent or a local school, they also have contacts. They might even have a doctor on staff. The health plan is great. Insurance for personal loss or loss of luggage is not required. However, we encourage all students to purchase it themselves. The university does not do that on the students behalf. We use HTH Worldwide Insurance. It has great resources online. You can locate local doctors. We give the students in their pre-departure packets a copy of their summary of benefits, a copy of a claim form (if they should need it), and a copy of their health id card. We have an additional handout about coverage. We also have an APU handout. We do not allow any programs to go to countries that are on the State Department warning list or alert list. Sometimes those warnings and alerts are overstated, such as the one for Kenya. There is an old warning on the State Department for Kenya. We allow faculty directors to petition through our International Travel Committee. The

It would be great if we could implement a mandatory fee for personal loss coverage. It would be inexpensive and beneficial for students in the long run.

PreDeparture Packet Winter_Sp ring_2012 PreDeparture Packet Winter_Sp ring_2012

8.g

Emergency Communications: How adequate and clearly defined are the programs emergency communications plans, and how often are they tested and assessed?

International Travel Committee will allow faculty directors to petition if they want to go to Egypt, Kenya or other places that are having world issues. Faculty directors can get approved to go to those countries. Thus, it involves an approval process. In the program proposal, faculty directors are required to look at the State Department website and make sure that the countries they plan on visiting are not on the list. If the countries are not on the list, they sign off that they researched it and that everything is okay as of that date. If anything arises afterwards, we have the right to cancel the program or require a petition submitted to the committee. We recently had a training on emergency communication with our legal council. We evaluated where our department was at with this issue. The recommendation that we received was to get this information published on the website. Other than the recommendation that we received, we are doing well in this area. We have all that information in the Study Abroad Office. The emergency plans are given to faculty directors in a directors packet right before they leave. They have access to students passport copies, emergency information, health information, etc. We instruct faculty directors to take these packets of information as a carry-on and not put it in their check-in bag because it is all personal information. No one else should have access to this information

We need to get the PowerPoint regarding this topic onto the Study Abroad website.

8.h

Student Emergencies: Where are the programs emergency contacts for individual students, and who has access to them? Where are the programs contingency plans, and who has access to them?

We need to post the emergency action plan on the Study Abroad website.

Creating Structure on the Home Campus to Support Internation al Activities PowerPoin t Azusa Pacific University Internation al Emergenc y Action Plan

8.i

Group Emergencies: What are the programs emergency contacts and contingency plans in case of an emergency that impacts the entire program?

except for the leaders of the group. We give faculty members emergency contacts for 24- hour assistance on campus. Campus Safety is always 24 hours and they have full access to anyone that needs to step in. We also give directors our cell phone numbers. If it is a medical emergency, the first thing to do is to get an ambulance or get the individual to a hospital. That is the first response. Faculty directors are required to fill out an emergency report and submit it to our office so that we have documentation of all situations. Emergency procedures vary with the program because students are all given on-site information on what to do in case of an emergency. It is different for each program. Some programs have students in small villages in Kenya working with the host organization, while others are all in the same dorm in Rome. We also encourage students to complete their personal emergency action plan on studentsabroad.com where they can print out their personal emergency card. All students are given access to people in charge. It could be the faculty directors and their cellphone numbers. It could be the host organizations support staff, which is trained incountry. It depends on the program. We ask faculty to complete a quick summary of the programs red flags, yellow flags, and green flags. In the Faculty Director Handbook, we have a

We need to post the emergency action plan on the Study Abroad website.

Azusa Pacific University Internation al Emergenc y Action Plan

8.j

Emergency Procedures: How well are students informed about what to do in the case of emergencies?

http://w ww.stud entsabro ad.com/ planning. asp

8.k

Supervision: How sufficient is the programs on-site staff to manage a crisis and provide support in case of emergencies?

8.l

Program Assessment: How are the program logistics and health and safety protocols assessed at the programs conclusion so that

Summer Faculty Director Program

subsequent programs are improved based on this assessment?

page in which we instruct faculty to comment on certain topics. It could be housing logistics, organizations, service providers, etc. We ask them to send us a brief report on that. We also receive feedback from students on the return assessment.

Report, CGLE Return Assessme nt

9. Ethics and Integrity: The program is organized in conformity with ethical principles and practices by using the Forums Code of Ethics for Education Abroad as a guide. In particular, the elements below are especially important to short-term programs, but the full Code of Ethics should be reviewed.
Standard. Query 9.a Query Operations: How is the program organized in accordance with ethical principles? Analysis We need to have a department discussion on the code of ethics for education abroad. We need to utilize the Forums guidelines and assess the extent to which we are in line with the guidelines. The nature of our advising office is to assist students in selecting a program that is the best fit for them in fulfilling the needs that they have. If students have a tight schedule, we advise them to do short-term programs. If students have zero financial resources, we advise them to do a semester program where they will receive financial support. We are always looking for the students benefit. Proposed Actions We need to have a meeting on this topic. We need to all be aware of the Forums guidelines. Appendix

9.b

Program Staff: How does the program staff advise students in an ethically responsible way?

9.c

Cultural Sensitivity: How does the program act with sensitivity to and respect for differences between local cultural norms and those of the home culture? i) How aware are program operators of the economic, social, and environmental impact of the program on the local community, and how do they endeavor to create a relationship that is mutually beneficial, and minimize any negative effects on the host society? ii) How does the program provide effective orientation of students, faculty and staff so that they are aware of applicable host and home country ethical and legal practices, and understand the host society, in order to avoid actions that negatively impact that society or the image of the host country?

These programs are a mutual benefit for the host culture or host organization and the students that are participating. Students and the host culture are gaining from this experience. It could either be funding, helping paint a wall, relationship-building, etc. The purpose is to engage in cultures and for it to be mutually beneficial. It is not just a benefit to one or the other. WASC is evaluating four of our themes and Intentional Internationalization is one of them. Cultural sensitivity is a huge part of our mentality. Our purpose is not to send our students to every country in the world. It is not about numbers. It is about the importance or the relativity of that culture or topic to the student. It is academically beneficial to our students.

9.d

Avoidance of Conflicts of Interest: How does the program avoid conflicts of interest in its operations?

We have an example of avoiding conflicts of interest. We have rules about nepotism. If the team leaders are a married couple, that is a conflict of interest. One of those leaders can be construed as the supervisor of the other and that is not okay. We try to designate one person as the director and the other person as the support staff. However, they report directly to the department head. They do not report to the other person. We have to

9.e

Law: How does the program operate in accordance with U.S. and international laws?

avoid nepotism. However, we do value those relationships because it is important for students to experience a family who can work together and lead a program. It supports a male and female representative of the university. The program proposal process helps eliminate any other significant problems. The departments are in charge of their faculty. We are in charge of the budget for these programs. We are a team and we work together with the department. We know that faculty members report to them. We have no say on how those faculty members teach or anything of that nature. We are clear on our guidelines. We are a support office. We are not going to evaluate how they teach, but we can offer insight on different activities they can do in the programculturally or socially. We operate in accordance with U.S. and international laws. We research all the needs of the students that are going abroad. If students need travel visas or student visas, we research every country to see what their laws are and we execute that if we need to. We had a situation in Rome in which one of the instructors was not an American citizen. We were not able to pay him directly. However, because we used an organization in Italy and he was an Italian the organization was able to pay him. They built that cost into the package. That alleviated us from creating an independent, international contract. It would have been expensive for everyone to do.

9.f

Marketing: How is the program marketed precisely and truthfully?

For every short-term program, we have the same kind of information depicted on one to two page fliers. We have the costs, locations, requirements, contact numbers, clearances, etc. We require faculty to follow our application procedure. Their marketing pieces need to include the specific components found in our fliers. Some of the legal information is always included. Then we market every way that we can: physical copies, electronic copies, email blasts, recruiting events, etc. We are honest and truthful and we tell students everything we know about the programs. We state what is included and what is not included in the costs.

CHINHIST in ChinaSummer 2012 App Packet